Front Suspension Control Arm Problems of Toyota 4Runner - part 1

Recently looked at 2007 Toyota 4runner limited v8 for sale to replace my 2005 limited that has severe frame corrosion and discovered that this vehicle too has nearly the exact same corrosion issues. The rear of the frame by the bumper, where the control arms and radiator are attached to the chassis and frame rails are so badly corroded you can push your finger through the metal. How much more evidence does NHTSA need to demand Toyota recall these vehicles? look at the hundreds of complaints to NHTSA and thousands of owners online posting pictures and videos of their vehicles rust issues. There is a major problem with these vehicles corroding just like the other Toyota body on frame products that were recalled for frame replacements. We own trucks 30-40 years old and not one of them has ever had a frame rust through to the point you can literally poke holes in it with your finger. This is unacceptable on a vehicle 10-15 years old. Jtebt17r670065094.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Rear driver side control arm broke off at the frame after striking pothole at highway speed. After the failure the vehicle was very hard to control and almost led to a rollover. The vehicle was unable to be driven and had to be towed. Toyota recalled tundra's, tacoma's, and sequoia's for frame replacement so it is a known problem. Will Toyota be held liable for accidents resulting from premature frame failure? by recalling the other models they obviously acknowledged it was a problem and 4runners share the same platform as the tacoma so why were they not included?.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Traveling on interstate at 65 mph and heard a "pop. " vehicle started swerving badly -- total loss of control. Rear end wagging horrifically nearly hitting cars in other lanes. Managed to get to shoulder but couldnt see what was wrong. Got vehicle off at exit and to garage. Was told frame snapped and rear end control arm no longer attached rear end to frame. Frame rot extensive. Scary as hell. No other rust on vehicle. Thought vehicle would flip!.

See all problems of the 2000 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Frame is rusted thru on both front sides where the control arms attach.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the vehicle frame was corroded trough and both rear control arm detached while driving. The contact mention that when he check under the vehicle he noticed lots of spot was cover with a black tape and was painted over to hide the rust and with holes. The contact stated that the rear tire move forward and backward causing the tires to eat up the bumper and rip in pieces the plastic trim panel. The vehicle was towed to the contact residence. The contact called aaa and informed them of the failure and was informed to contact NHTSA. The dealer nor manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. Aw.

The vehicle frame has multiple perforations greater than 10mm. One such perforation has created a crack on the frame just in front of the right rear lower control arm mount. If this vehicle were to hit a bad enough bump or pot hole, there exists a possibility the frame could snap and allow the control arm to become free and the vehicle would lose control.

Vehicle started handling poorly. I had recently replaced the rear shocks and thought I needed an alignment done. Brought it to my mechanic who pointed out that my rear upper control arm brakcet on the passenger had rotted and broken, causing the squirrely handling. Shortly after, while driving home from work on the highway at ~70mph, I heard a clunk and the tail end of the truck started jumping/swerving. Took back roads home and assessed the problem. Lo and behold my driver's side upper control arm bracket encountered the same fate. Rotted and broken. My vehicle's first owner was in minnesota but since then it has been in texas where there is no salt on the roads. I've done what I can to seal and prevent further rust on the frame after purchase and yet this still happens? my truck is no longer drive-able as it's extremely unsafe to have my rear axle disconnected from the frame. So until I can manage to 1) find someone willing to weld my frame 2) pay for such a service I am without a vehicle. . . I paid $2000 for this car less than a year ago with only 170k miles on it.

The rust on the frame of this vehicle is unlike anything I've seen in comparison to it's age. I work on vehicles frequently and have not seen anything like this in a modern age vehicle, and vehicles that are over 40 years old that I own or work on don't have rust that is remotely this bad. Upon further investigation, I found the entire weld line of the frame rails to be corroded through in an approximately 28" section. With further investigation, the entire bottom section of that rail was rusted out to be extremely thin and separated at the seam, entirely compromising the integrity of the frame rail. 2 of the body mounts are also rusted out as well as some of the suspension mount components. The vehicle is at risk for having the spring and strut assembly or the control arm assembly detaching from the frame under normal operation conditions. This is an incredible safety risk as it could result in the vehicle losing all steering control. Luckily it was found before an accident occurred.

Nothing happened yet but found upon checking that the rear differential upper control arm that is attached to the frame is rusted through. I am afraid it will detach while driving and can cause an accident. I have removed the flaky metal myself in the summer of 2020 and painted it to avoid further rusting. The crossbar in the front that is supporting the radiator is rusted through as well. The metal that is holding the tank is gone too.

The frame is completely rusted with rusted out holes. Caused the driver side lower control arm to break off, almost causing my teenage son to crash fortunately he was on a side street and driving slow.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

My 2014 Toyota 4 runner has what I call a death wobble. As you start down the road and get up to speed, 55-65 mph, the front end shakes violently and pulls to the right. I am almost scared to drive it. I have had a few mechanic shops look at it and no one can figure it out. They have done alignments, checked transfer case (4wd), cv axles on front, control arm bushings, swapped tires, replaced rotors and road force balanced tires. The last mechanic said I should park it until it's figured out but I cannot afford another vehicle as I'm still paying on this one and it's my only vehicle. I have never owned a vehicle that does this and I have had about 20 vehicles! I looked online to see what others have reported on this issue and there are a bunch of the exact same problems in online 2010-2018 4 runner forums. This seriously needs to be addressed and is apparently an issue with the front end. Someone is going to wreck because of this. Toyota needs to be made aware of and look into the problem. The dealerships isn't any help at all. They cannot figure out the problem either and just pawn it off until a warranty runs out. Please please please help figure this out. I love my vehicle but I'm really starting to be scared to drive it.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Toyota 4runner. When the contact attempted to start the vehicle, it would not start. The contact mentioned that the head gasket needed to be removed and re-installed in order to start the vehicle. Also, while driving various speeds, the rear of the vehicle swayed uncontrollably to the left and right. The vehicle was taken to big o tires (2245 state st, new albany, in 47150, 812-949-0736) where it was diagnosed that the passenger side control arm was fractured and the driver's side control arm could fracture at any moment. The vehicle was towed to mccormick motor sports (1041 s 6th st, louisville, ky 40203, (502) 584-1981) where the contact was informed that the head gasket was causing cylinder three to misfire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 217,500.

Frame broke lower control arm cross member left side no steering half pulled out of transmission.

Excessive frame rust caused rear driver side control arm mount to rust right off the frame while my daughter was driving it. At the time her speed was slow as she was pulling into grocery store plaza.

See all problems of the 1998 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

The control arm separated from the rotted rusted frame while driving. Almost died!.

Less than 80k miles and frame is completely rotting apart. While driving approximately 40 mph I lost control because the control arm completely separated from the frame! completely unsafe and death traps.

See all problems of the 2009 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Frame and suspension rust has weakened the parts to the point of failure. Rear upper control arm mounting bracket on rear axle broke while driving on highway while going around a turn. Vehicle's rear wobbled back and forth violently. I almost lost control of the vehicle. There are other pieces that look close to failure.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

While on a city street with a 45mph speed limit, when the accelerator was pressed the back end of the car started to fishtail to the side. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealership where they discovered the frame of the vehicle had rusted and broke where the rear control arm to the driver side rear axle attached. The vehicle had been well maintained by the only owner and the body is in near excellent condition with no accidents.

The mount for the rear lower control arm has rusted off. This is causing the car to violently rock back and fourth after hitting a pot hole and continue for a few seconds after. It is very unnerving and obviously a mater safety issue. I have also seen similar complaints on websites such as t4r. Org. Please give me a call 203-218-9058.

See all problems of the 1999 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

My 16 year old daughter was driving on a city street and was turning into a driveway and the lower control arm on passenger side broke and I was told it was because the frame is rotted. Not sure if I am able to fix due to the frame. I am new to the northeast and was not aware of rotted frames out here.

The frame where the lower control arm meets is rusting out at an alarming rate. It is going to be unsafe to drive in a few months when the rear lower control arms will be ripped off from the frame rail. There is almost no rust on the body of the truck and it spend most of its life in arizona out of the salt belt. In only 5 years the frame has started to desegregate and it has been cleaned reqularly. I've started undercoating it with petroleum based products and rust converters/ inhibitors and it is still just meting away. The rust hole has grown to over 2 times the size it was 2 months ago. I'm really disappointed that the frames are this bad, I had gm vehicles older and less maintained do better than this.

Extreme rust/rot throughout my 2003 4runner frame. The body, interior, powertrain are 8. 5 out of 10 the frame is a 0 I live in new england and recently purchased the 03 4runner sr5 based off it looks. I drove the 4runner of about a month before the incident happened. I was driving on a typical new england road, fairly smooth with pot holes here and there going approximately 45 m. P. H. . Without any warning the 4runner sent the front of the truck hard left and the rear of the truck to the right. The tires were screeching and I was sent sideways into oncoming traffic narrowing missing cars and pedestrians in the area. I got the truck to "crab walk" back across the road into a parking out and called a tow truck. When we got the truck home the tow truck driver and I took a look under the truck to see what went wrong. The right rear control arm mount had completely separated from the frame. With the truck on ththe ground I was able to roll the rear right wheel forward and backwards about 5 inches without the vehicle moving at all. I then got under the truck and saw that the cross member under the transmission had rusted away and and what not in contact with the driver side of the truck. Also I could push holes in the the frame with my fingers around the driver/ front passenger doors. I have not driven the 4runner since and I dont have 8k+ to pay a shop to replace a frame. Toyota needs to step up and take care of its customers before someone gets killed.

Rusted frame - while driving, the left front control arm broke free from the severely rusted frame. Thank god the driver was not injured. The repair will require welding to the frame to support a new control arm. This is unacceptable. Had this happened a highway speeds, this could have resulted in severe injury or death. Unacceptable! I have had it towed to a Toyota dealer but will not be conducting any repairs until Toyota's service manager responds to my questions regarding recalls on frames. The ntsb has a responsibility to review and if necessary, based on my analysis, extend the recall to these vehicles as well. Same frame as tacoma which is already recalled.

I want to be clear that I am submitting this on behalf of all 3rd gen 4runners! it has not, yet, happened to me but I am fearful to drive the vehicle until I replace the parts even though they seem fine. At the least a better, safer design could be made so that when it does fail, peoples live aren't put into jeopardy. Hello! I have a question about 1996-2002 Toyota 4runner's and their very common issue of the lower control arm ball joints failing. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is stock or modified, first year or last year run but somehow Toyota only has issued a recall for the 2001 and 2002 model years. Leaving hundreds of thousands of us vulnerable to a severe accident. The failure point is the bail joint and when it fails it severs itself from the vehicle, pulling the axle shaft out and causing the front end to dip to the ground causing a very unsafe driving experience as you could possibly die at any speed. You can find thousands of stories on google, it happens literally everyday with people reporting in many 3rd gen 4runner forums and facebook groups. Google �3rd gen 4runner lbj failure� for instance. Why does Toyota only need to recall 2 years of a 6 year vehicle run? all years are equally affected. Toyota is a name of dependability so this rare act of betraying the customer and putting their lives on the line is just so unlike them. Can you please look into this and help ya out? I have not personally had this happen but I check my lower arms all the time for any play but have heard stories of others with detailed maintenance and it happening to them regardless. It's totally unsafe and a redesign should be thought up, newer generations do not have this failure prone issue and more importantly if they do fail they do not make for a very unsafe environment.

Frame rust on the inside portion for the frame. 33" hole rusted through completely on passenger side. Rust continues about 80% of the way through the rear lower control arm mount. Driver's side has a similar amount of severe rust that has weakened the structural integrity of the frame to the point where it is no longer safe to drive. Should the CO troll arm mount finish rusting through, the axle will no longer be attached to the frame on that side. There is noticble flex and sound associated with the frame rot. It is only a matter of time before the control arm mount disconnects completely, or the frame buckles.

See all problems of the 2002 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

While traveling at about 45mph, the left rear control arm mount broke off the frame and almost caused myself, my wife, my 2 year old, and my 11 month old son to crash. I managed to get the vehicle stopped without any injuries. After inspection, the entire frame is rusted to the point im not comfortable with my wife and kids riding in this vehicle. Im now paying a car payment on a vehicle that is useless. I like Toyota's but will not likely purchase another one unless something is done to fix this problem. I have read multiple complaints online of this type of and yet nothing has been done to correct the problem. Please Toyota, do the right thing and fix this problem. We will be stuck with a car payment and a vehicle that is virtually unusable.

06 4runner same frame as recalled tacoma. Safety issue heavy rust on frame . Mechanic said to get rid of it, rotting where it connects to control arms. May not pass next inspection.

This is yet another costumer of the 4runner 3rd generation complaining about the frame rusting out. There needs to be responsability for the bad frames on this year 4runner. My frame has holes in the rear control arm attachment area and more rust all throughout entire frame. I'm doing all I can to keep my frame from getting any more rust on it and keeping it safe to be on the road. I strongly believe Toyota should also have a frame recall for the 4runner like it did for the tundra tacoma and sequoia frames.

Just recently bought my 4runner from a dealer. Began swaying at highway speeds and producing a faint clicking sound. The swaying was noticeably prevalent when engaging and disengaging the accelerator, driving over small terrain features (railroad tracks, road seams etc. ) switching lanes and coming to complete stops. Upon inspection found the left rear control arm had completely separated from the main frame. This could potentially have caused serious fatalities. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, it appears that 17 years was the magic number.

Vehicle frame is rusting faster than normal. Have had to replace many suspension parts, welded front alignment tabs to keep vehicle in line, replaced vehicle suspension but unsure how long this will last due to frame still flaking. Toyota dealer states that the rust is severe and when I had my rear upper control arms replaced, stated that the mount bracket was very thin and causing movement in the rear of my vehicle.

My rear frame rotted out causing my control arm to break off. The vehicle was extremely hard to control causing a rollover accident.

Frame is rusting from the inside out control arms fell off the car. Frame busted in half.

See all problems of the 1997 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

2005 Toyota 4runner structural frame rapid oxidation to structure causing left front control arm to frame (as well as frame itself) to break while in motion at slow speed leaving driveway. I have contacted Toyota case# 1712112893 to ask why there is no buyback program on frames that they produced in 2004 that were found defective in tacoma's/4runners that were also used for their 2005 model production 4runners. Toyota rep told myself that no campaigns would exist unless otherwise told so (or perhaps investigated for their prior acknowledged defective frames used in previous model years). Though I am lucky that this occurred at slow speed I don't know how many other americans may face my situation while at 60-70mph on the highway with their families whom trust Toyota for their safety and product reliability that end in ultimate tragedy. I've included photos as well as a clean carfax report to show no prior incidents. Thank you.

"takata recall" I noticed a very large rust whole in my frame right next to the transmission cross member, it spans about 5-6in from where the visible whole is. Also where the lower control arm bracket attaches to the frame is rotting away. Both whole on the passenger side.

The contact owns a 2000 Toyota 4runner. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle started to wobble and the contact heard a clunking noise emerging from the rear driver side. The contact had to pull over to the side of the road and noticed a metal bar hanging form the rear driver side of the vehicle. The rear driver side control arm was rusted and detached from the frame. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 142,491.